Bob Gould (activist)
Encyclopedia
Robert Stephen "Bob" Gould (1937 – 22 May 2011) was an Australian activist and bookseller. He was a leader of the anti-conscription movement, and of protests against Australian involvement in the Vietnam War, in the 1960s. He went on to become a successful second-hand bookseller.
. Gould was already being described as a "habitual protestor". By 1969 Gould was seen as having influence over Labor Clubs at the University of Sydney
, the University of New South Wales
and Macquarie University
.
Gould went on to fight for many other issues, including Irish civil rights, Indonesian atrocities in East Timor, and the war on Iraq. He was a prolific writer on the many causes in which he believed. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
(ASIO) held a file on Gould that ran to 8000 pages.
In 1966 Gould helped to chase and capture the attempted assassin of Labor leader Arthur Calwell
.
Bob Gould joined the Australian Labor Party at the age of 17, about 1954, and remained a member of that party throughout his life.
He joined the party just as the Labor Party split of 1955
was brewing and quickly became embroiled in the struggle against the right-wing Groupers. Gould wrote about some of his experiences at that time in his essay, Bob Santamaria and Bob Gould.
While he was involved in the struggle against the Groupers, Gould has written that he was also "in the orbit" of the Communist Party of Australia
, but he broke with Communist Party influence in 1956, after Khruschev's Secret Speech and the USSR's invasion of Hungary.
He obtained copies of Khruschev's speech detailing the crimes of Stalin, and distributed them to members of the Communist Party and left-wing members of the Labor Party.
Gould then made contact with Australian Trotskyists, who had opposed Joseph Stalin
and Stalinism
from the beginning. This group included the ironworkers union activist Nick Origlass
, who worked in the Balmain shipyards and had led an important strike there in 1945.
Gould at this time was also in contact with Helen Palmer
, who organised a leftist magazine, Outlook, which served as a focus for anti-Stalinist leftists who had left the Communist Party because of the 1956 events.
Gould remained a self-described anti-Stalinist Marxist for the rest of his life.
Gould's shops pushed the boundaries of Australia's strict censorship laws at the time, and he was often raided by police.
An article on Gould's business appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald
just two months before his death.
Federal politicians Andrew Leigh
and Daryl Melham
paid tribute to Gould in the Australian parliament. New South Wales Opposition Leader John Robertson
and government minister Brad Hazzard
eulogised Gould in the Parliament of New South Wales
.
Politics and activism
Gould first came to public attention in 1966 as Convenor of the Vietnam Action Campaign, a group opposed to conscription and participation in the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Gould was already being described as a "habitual protestor". By 1969 Gould was seen as having influence over Labor Clubs at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
.
Gould went on to fight for many other issues, including Irish civil rights, Indonesian atrocities in East Timor, and the war on Iraq. He was a prolific writer on the many causes in which he believed. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically-motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and...
(ASIO) held a file on Gould that ran to 8000 pages.
In 1966 Gould helped to chase and capture the attempted assassin of Labor leader Arthur Calwell
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
.
Bob Gould joined the Australian Labor Party at the age of 17, about 1954, and remained a member of that party throughout his life.
He joined the party just as the Labor Party split of 1955
Australian Labor Party split of 1955
The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a splintering of the Australian Labor Party along sectarian and ideological lines in the mid 1950s...
was brewing and quickly became embroiled in the struggle against the right-wing Groupers. Gould wrote about some of his experiences at that time in his essay, Bob Santamaria and Bob Gould.
While he was involved in the struggle against the Groupers, Gould has written that he was also "in the orbit" of the Communist Party of Australia
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
, but he broke with Communist Party influence in 1956, after Khruschev's Secret Speech and the USSR's invasion of Hungary.
He obtained copies of Khruschev's speech detailing the crimes of Stalin, and distributed them to members of the Communist Party and left-wing members of the Labor Party.
Gould then made contact with Australian Trotskyists, who had opposed Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
from the beginning. This group included the ironworkers union activist Nick Origlass
Nick Origlass
Nick Origlass was an Australian Trotskyist notable for his electoral success in becoming mayor of Balmain, an unusual feat for a revolutionary in Australia, and an unusual electoral success within Trotskyism's international history. Origlass became mayor on a Balmain Labour Party ticket...
, who worked in the Balmain shipyards and had led an important strike there in 1945.
Gould at this time was also in contact with Helen Palmer
Helen Palmer
Helen Palmer is an athlete from Great Britain. She competes in archery.Palmer represented Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She placed 61st in the women's individual ranking round with a 72-arrow score of 594. In the first round of elimination, she faced 4th-ranked He Ying of People's...
, who organised a leftist magazine, Outlook, which served as a focus for anti-Stalinist leftists who had left the Communist Party because of the 1956 events.
Gould remained a self-described anti-Stalinist Marxist for the rest of his life.
Bookseller
Gould opened twelve bookshops and closed eleven since opening his first shop, the Third World Bookshop, in 1967.Gould's shops pushed the boundaries of Australia's strict censorship laws at the time, and he was often raided by police.
An article on Gould's business appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
just two months before his death.
Death
Gould died on Sunday, 22 May 2011 from injuries sustained in a fall while sorting books at his store. He was 74. Over 500 people attended his funeral on 26 May 2011 at Macquarie Park, the service being extended by thirty minutes to provide for all of the eulogies.Federal politicians Andrew Leigh
Andrew Leigh
Andrew Keith Leigh is an Australian politician and former professor of economics at the Australian National University. He has been a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2010, representing the Canberra seat of Fraser. In 2011, Andrew was awarded the Economic Society of...
and Daryl Melham
Daryl Melham
Daryl Melham , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1990, representing the Division of Banks, New South Wales. He was born in Sydney, New South Wales, to a family of Lebanese descent and studied Law and Economics at...
paid tribute to Gould in the Australian parliament. New South Wales Opposition Leader John Robertson
John Robertson (New South Wales politician)
John Cameron Robertson MP , an Australian politician, is the Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales and the Leader of the Opposition. Robertson is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Blacktown for Labor since 2011...
and government minister Brad Hazzard
Brad Hazzard
Bradley "Brad" Ronald Hazzard MP , an Australian politician, is the New South Wales Minister for Planning and Infrastructure and Minister Assisting the Premier on Infrastructure NSW in the O'Farrell-Stoner Liberal/National coalitition government...
eulogised Gould in the Parliament of New South Wales
Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...
.